[Vision2020] Re: Pledge of Allegiance

[Ted Moffett]

Donovan:

Of course there are numerous reasons Christians may oppose the Pledge of
Allegiance as it is now spoken in public schools  There are good reasons to 
oppose government sponsored promotion of belief in "God" for anyone who 
supports a strong interpretation of the principle of separation of church 
and state, whether they be a deist, agnostic, atheist or otherwise.  And of 
course Christians who view the public schools as a sinister plot to push 
government sponsored agnosticism as a "religion" view the "under God" 
wording as meaningless or sacrilegious.

But the facts are clear that a majority of Christians in the USA support 
keeping the words "under God" in the pledge as it is spoken in public 
schools.  There was outrage, a feeding frenzy, when a federal court ruled 
the words "under God" in the pledge as spoken in public schools was 
unconstitutional.  President Bush spoke out against this ruling, which came 
from a "left wing" leaning federal court in the western US.  This ruling 
never took effect nor will it or any ruling like it be put into law anytime 
soon.  The US Senate voted unanimously to keep the "under God" wording, a 
bit of politically motivated grandstanding considering the Senate was not 
then making any formal legal decision.

I discussed this ruling with a federal court lawyer working in Boise.  He 
said that in blocking the ruling from taking effect, the interpretation was 
made that the word "God" in the pledge is meant more generally to apply to 
anyone's beliefs in a supreme being, power or powers, not just to the God of 
Christianity, so the "under God" wording is not a promotion of a particular 
religious faith over any other.  I find this reasoning rather suspect, but 
then I'm not a lawyer.

Ted

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